AuthorTopic: If Sir Paul, Why Not, Sir Ringo? (Read 7979 times)

He will always be Ringo Starr, drummer, to me. If one were to listen to a track like George’s “Don’t Bother Me” off “With the Beatles”, one can hear Ringo playing what sounds like bongos- but Eastern bongos. Yes, Ringo was World Music before “World Music.”

In fact, if you listen to many Beatles’ tracks, there are not so much as drums holding them together- but percussion- tambourines, cowbells, maracas…whatever could make a sound. I recently listed to “You Can’t Do That” and “I Call Your Name,” two very underrated Beatles tracks and, apart from John’s great vocals, my ears went to the percussion. Apart from his drum rolls on “A Day In The Life” and which I only thought Hal Blaine was capable of doing, Ringo’s work on these two tracks say much about his musical role with the Beatles.

Let’s also not forget that it was Ringo who came up with the terms “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Tomorrow Never Knows” and other “malapropisms” which also found their way into quite a few songs by Beatles. For instance, he came up with the line, “Darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there” for “Eleanor Rigby”.

The last time there was a petition to have Ringo honoured with a knighthood was in 2006 when Time magazine’s David Finkelstein started up a petition and which attracted 1,887 signatures. Not good enough, boys and girls plus much has happened in four years and which is why I Am Not A Member.

"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

Probably because he was only the drummer. I love Ringo, but was his drumming seriously good enough to cause him to be knighted? If he does indeed become knighted (and i'm all for it), its going to be because John and Paul wrothe a bunch of killer songs, not due to his drumming.

Probably because he was only the drummer. I love Ringo, but was his drumming seriously good enough to cause him to be knighted? If he does indeed become knighted (and i'm all for it), its going to be because John and Paul wrothe a bunch of killer songs, not due to his drumming.

John, Paul, and George's lyrics are classic. But you have to take in consideration the overall composition. When I'm listening to a Beatles song, I pay a lot of attention to the instruments and how they contribute to the overall sound. Ringo's drum fills are so signature to the Beatles music. Ringo has said in his 2008 Off The Record interview that drum fills come naturally for him. They happen in the moment and are not planned.

"Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo's popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo's great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for The Beatles songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and still identify the song." - Drummer Steve Smith (Journey)

Ringo "doesn't dazzle with flashy technique and pyrotechnics," says The Cars' lead guitarist, Elliot Easton. "What he does is so much more elusive and difficult: He plays songs on the drums. Anybody who has sat down behind a drum kit in the last 45 years owes him." (USA Today, Praising Ringo Starr, one drummer to another)

"Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' He wouldn't know what to do." - Drummer Phil Collins (The Making of Sgt. Pepper, 1992)

Kenny Arnoff -- "I consider him one of the greatest innovators of rock drumming and believe that he has been one of the greatest influences on rock drumming today... Ringo has influenced drummers more than they will ever realize or admit. Ringo laid down the fundamental rock beat that drummers are playing today and they probably don't even realize it. (Modern Drummer,Oct. 1987)

For being a Beatle, and one of the greatest drummers of all time, Ringo deserves recognition.

"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

Even though John and George are no longer alive, they also deserve to receive the honor of knighthood to their names.

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"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

I don't think it has something to do with being underrated or not. There are zillions underrated musicians in the world. Although his contribution to the Beatles' music in undeniable, his SIGNIFICANCE (sp?) for the music business is not as big as Pauls.

Granted, I didnt watch all of this video, but what does a crappy drummer trying to play 'The Word' have to do with Ringo being underrated?

The drummer in the video is not a crappy drummer. He's basically showing how signature Ringo's drum fills are to the songs, and how his contribution to the overall sound of the music doesn't get appreciated enough.

Here's a nice quote from Ringo talking about his drum fills:"The fill is the art of the drummer, that happens in the moment. That’s always been the way with me. I can’t think about it. I don’t play drum parts. I have no idea how it’s gonna turn out. I don’t say, “Oh, 16 bars in I’ll do that.” I have no idea at all what I’m going to do, it just happens." (Goldmine Magazine Interview)

Here's another nice quote by Geoff Emerick on Here Comes The Sun: ""Ringo's tom fills really make the song, but funnily enough, he hated doing them because he could never remember what he was did one take to the next. I think that's why his fills are so spectacular - he felt that he would never reproduce them, so he'd better get 'em right." (MusicRader Interview)

« Last Edit: June 08, 2010, 04:23:35 PM by LennonStarrFan »

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"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

2. Does that drummer really say in that video that he's trying to show how Ringo's contribution gets overlooked just by playing 'The Word'?

I think you assume too much sometimes.

He doesn't say it. He shows why. There's a reason he gave that title for the video.

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"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

He doesn't say it. He shows why. There's a reason he gave that title for the video.

He doesnt show sh*t. He titles the video as 'Why Ringo Starr Is Underrated' and all he does is play along to The Word. Big deal. So we're to assume (theres that word again) that this drummer thinks The Word is Ringo's masterpiece? Maybe its just his favorite Beatle song. What part of the song is Ringo so god-like in his performance that the world should know he's underrated? If Ringo is so great on that song then why is this mediocre at best drummer able to play along with it? Maybe the drummer should have explained his intentions a bit for this video or better yet, show us some instructions or examples of what he and ringo played that was so awesome. Break it down for us. I have a pretty good idea as to why he didnt.

I love Ringo, but The Word is a poor example as to why he's supposedly underrated. Its not a hard song to play and he has much better examples.

He doesnt show sh*t. He titles the video as 'Why Ringo Starr Is Underrated' and all he does is play along to The Word. Big deal. So we're to assume (theres that word again) that this drummer thinks The Word is Ringo's masterpiece? Maybe its just his favorite Beatle song. What part of the song is Ringo so god-like in his performance that the world should know he's underrated? If Ringo is so great on that song then why is this mediocre at best drummer able to play along with it? Maybe the drummer should have explained his intentions a bit for this video or better yet, show us some instructions or examples of what he and ringo played that was so awesome. Break it down for us. I have a pretty good idea as to why he didnt.

I love Ringo, but The Word is a poor example as to why he's supposedly underrated. Its not a hard song to play and he has much better examples.

It's not about which drums fills are the technically most complex. Ringo was a master of subtlety. The drummer in the video was trying to show how Ringo was underrated because people take for granted how much a part of the overall sound his fills are.

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"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

It's not about which drums fills are the technically most complex. Ringo was a master of subtlety. The drummer in the video was trying to show how Ringo was underrated because people take for granted how much a part of the overall sound his fills are.

You drummers, always banging on.So Ringo should be knighted because:- his drum fills are subtle- he thought of the names "A hard Days Night" and "Tomorrow Never Knows."- he came up with a line from Eleanor Rigby.- the guys from The Cars, Journey and Phil Collins think he's good.

People from the rock establishment who've been knighted:Elton JohnCliff RichardPaul McCartneyMick JaggerGeorge Martin.

Elton and Cliff got their's mostly for their charitable work. Don't think many argue about Macca. Martin and especially Jagger get more than a few heads scratching. Ringo just don't belong in this kind of company.

The last petition only got 1887 signatures. Suprise suprise.Sir Francis Drake must be turning in his grave.

It's not about which drums fills are the technically most complex. Ringo was a master of subtlety. The drummer in the video was trying to show how Ringo was underrated because people take for granted how much a part of the overall sound his fills are.

Again, thats only your opinion. After watching that video, I have several opinions.

1. The Word is easy enough to play that even mediocre, beginner type drummers can have a go at it.2. The fills are anything but subtle. As a matter of fact, they stand out in that song due to the fact that everything else is nothing more than a 4/4 beat.3. Lastly, I dont think people with kits that can be bought on isle 10 at Wal-mart should be posting crappy videos. That closed hi-hat sounded like somebody tapping their leg with their hand. I had to do a double take just to sort that out. I'll leave it at that as I realize some people are less fortunate than others.

All in all, I dont think Ringo is underrated anymore. He's a good drummer that gets plenty of praise. Maybe even more than he deserves sometimes.

Elton and Cliff got their's mostly for their charitable work. Don't think many argue about Macca. Martin and especially Jagger get more than a few heads scratching. Ringo just don't belong in this kind of company.

Agreed, and again, if Ritchie does become knighted, it will be due to the fact that he was a Beatle and not for his drumming skills.

All in all, I dont think Ringo is underrated anymore. He's a good drummer that gets plenty of praise. Maybe even more than he deserves sometimes.

He's underrated by the general public, but not by drummers.

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"John was the best. I loved John. He was fine singer, a fine musician and he was a fine friend." -Ringo“He's (Ringo) every bloody bit as warm, unassuming, funny, and kind as he seems. He was quite simply the heart of the Beatles.” – John

C'mom - he's a drummer. The general public don't rate drummers - we ignore them. They bang things with sticks.Seriously though - this is muso talk. I know great drummers require great skill, but this is lost on the vast majority of the public.And crucially - nobody seems to notice when he's not there, whether it be on the stage (Jimmy Nichol) or in the studio (Back in the USSR etc.)When I watch a Beatles tribute band I never think "ooh, the drummers not very good." I think "ooh that guy's nose isn't near big enough."